📜 A Few Reasons to Scroll Today:
Fun Things to Do: Karaoke every night of the week
Hidden History: The missing Palma Ceia Spring
Connect with Nature: Will we get smoke?
Worth the Drive: A half-day safari trip
Community Contributions: Best coffee shop in South Tampa
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Fun Things to Do
Where to Karaoke in South Tampa
A themed karaoke room at LaLa. (By LaLa.)
Whether you like to sing or watch others do it for you, South Tampa has a few places where you can count on karaoke almost every night of the week. Here’s a quick roundup of where and when to find it:
Pete's Place South: This dive bar advertises itself as the “best karaoke bar in Tampa”. It happens every Thursday–Sunday at 9pm.
LALA Tampa: Offers both private themed karaoke rooms and open mic sessions on Wednesdays 9pm–12am, Thursdays 9pm–1am, and Fridays and Saturdays 10pm–2am.
Mackenzies Sports Tavern: free-to-enter karaoke contest every Wednesday from 9pm–1am.
Meet New Friends
Bend, Bubbles & Brunch with poolside yoga that includes a glass of champagne, 15% off brunch, and all-day pool access at the Epicurean Hotel on July 19 at 10–11AM.
Businesses on the Move
Howard & Platt, a new restaurant serving weekend brunch, lunch, and dinner, is opening on July 23 on South Howard Ave.
Hidden History
Palma Ceia Spring: Then & Now
Palma Ceia Spring pool in 1926 or 1928. (Courtesy: Hillsborough County Public Library System.)
You may have noticed several South Tampa businesses are decorated with a black and white archival photo of the Palma Ceia Spring with people swimming in it, which you can’t do today. It wasn’t until we saw it from the wider angle photo above that we realized how HUGE that pool was compared to the one (below) that still exists in Fred Ball Park. It’s not even close to the same thing, so what happened to this place?
Turns out this area has changed a lot in the last 120+ years. It opened to visitors around 1903 as a privately owned natural spring, then later got paved into a large pool in 1926 or 1928, when the above photo was taken. The owners had the last name Palmer and called this “Palmera Spring”. It seems no one is sure exactly when or how, but this evolved into the spring and whole neighborhood being named “Palma Ceia Spring”.
The large pool in the photo was actually located where the large grassy area is now in Fred Ball Park. Apparently that pool had to be backfilled in 1959 due to a combination of intruding groundwater pollution and receding water levels. Any remaining spring water from that area is now drained through hidden pipes underneath Bayshore Boulevard and into the bay!
The smaller pool we see today was apparently never attached to the large pool, but was always only a few feet away. So the two photos are indeed not the same pool.
In the mid-1940’s, the Hillsborough County Commissioner convinced the Board to buy the land and name it after himself, “Fred Ball Park”, which is still its name. The Tampa Garden Club’s Rose Circle volunteers renovated it in the 1980s into the features it has today, and got a Hillsborough County historical marker added in 2025. What a hidden natural wonder!
Connect with Nature
Upcoming Natural Events
The color of the Sun around 11am on July 16 in smoky skies near Cleveland, Ohio. (By Celeste Glick for The South Tampa Scroll.)
Notable Weather Changes: We’re likely going to have thunderstorms every day until Wednesday.
Hurricane Prep: As peak hurricane season approaches, create a reusable task list of what you would do to prepare in the days leading up to a hurricane. It’s easier to make a plan when it’s not yet panic time!
Wildfire Smoke: While the northern part of the country is seeing otherworldly skies from heavy Canadian wildfire smoke, none of it is forecast to reach Tampa.
Worth the Drive
Half Day Trip: Interactive Safari Drive
Zebras at Safari Wilderness in Lakeland. (By Danielle Glick for The South Tampa Scroll.)
This isn’t Busch Gardens’ or Animal Kingdom’s safari ride. It is much closer to the real thing! It’s Safari Wilderness in Lakeland, Florida, where the animals roam free across wide open plains, and you get to interact with them for several hours.
A guide will drive you in a tall, open-air vehicle and let you feed all of the animals from your seat. They come right up to the vehicle, so you get very close animal interactions— if you chose a window seat. You could also sit near the aisle and let other people touch the animals for you.
Hot Tip: If you go in August after school starts, you might be the only visitors there, effectively getting a private tour (as we did)!
Roundtrip time away from South Tampa: 4 hours
Tampa Bay Area Foodie Find
Dulce de Leche Napoleon at Moreno Bakery in Brandon. (By Danielle Glick for The South Tampa Scroll.)
One bite, and my mind was blown! Where have Dulce de Leche Napoleons been my whole life?! And what sorcery are they using to get such crisp, flakey, delicate layers between that much cream on a hot Florida day? The physics of it was mind-boggling. And to top off all that cream with caramel flavor is genius.
This should be the standard flavor for all Napoleons. It’s almost worth driving to Brandon just for this! But Moreno Bakery has dozens of other desserts and savory hot foods, so you’ll probably discover a lot of great things there.
Nearby Events
Tampa Bay Rodeo is July 17-18 at the Hillsborough County Fairgrounds.
Casino Night fundraiser hosted by the Tampa Fire Fighters Museum is on July 18 at their museum in downtown Tampa.
Community Contributions
Reader’s Choice: Best Coffee Shop
Whether you go for the food and drinks, the vibes, the people, or the Wifi, what’s your favorite coffee shop in South Tampa?
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Your Local Writer & Founder: Danielle is a lover of food, craft cocktails, wine, travel, nature, and history. After living in Ohio, Dallas, New Zealand, and 37 countries as a digital nomad, Danielle decided South Tampa was the best place to settle in 2022. She blends a world’s worth of experiences with local expertise as a Meetup event organizer and marketing director to ensure The Scroll is always worth your read!